Method and apparatus for producing crude oil



Juy 28, 1925.

P. ARBON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CRUDE OIL Filed SeptY 25, 1923 llllllt Patented July 28, 1925.

UNITED sTATss 1,547,197 PATENT oFFlcE.

kPAUL Annen, or TULSA, OKLAHOMA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOB PRODUCING CRUDE OIL.

Application led September 25, 1923. Serial No. 664,690.

To all whom z't ma concer/n:

Be it known that PAUL Anson, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Tulsa inthe county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus for Producing Crude Oil, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the production of crude oil by means of thejet system in the presence of a vacuum and forms an advanced step over that system disclosed and claimed in my prior application, Serial No. 610,265, led January 2, 1923. The present invention also utilizes the combined -jet and packer set forth in my application, Serial No. 610,264, filed January 2, 1923.

Heretofore, experiments utilizing jets or ejectors in the production of crude oil from wells where a vacuum is placed upon the sand, have been failures. By the present arrangement, it has been found possible to place the sand under vacuum withoutl intertering with the operation of the jet system.

The present apparatus includes three strings of pipe, viz: the casing, theouter tubing, and the inner tubing. The stringsv of tubing are providedvwith perforations at the same level which areimmersedv the uid. The inner tubing is packed above the perforated portion from the outer-tubing,

and carries such jets as may be necessary in the operation ofthe well. The pressure for the operation of the jets is fed from a suitable source between the inner and outer tubing and enters the jet to elevate theI oil.

The outer casing is provided with a conventional head which communicates, by

means of suitable piping, with a vacuumv tank or other vacuum producing means. By this arrangement, the vacuum is placed upon the sand through the casing, or rather between the walls of the casing, and the outside wall of the outer tubing without interering with the operation of the pressure necessary for the successful operation of the jet.

Reference will be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through an operating well;

Fig. 2 is' an enlar ed vertical section through a fragment o the apparatus and showing the construction and arrangement of the packer and jet; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. c

Referring now to the construction and arrangement of the various parts 'comprising the present invention, reference character A will be seen to indicate the outer casing provided with a. conventional head B formed with suitable outlets b for communication with the vacuum producing means hereinwhich the outer tubing E passes for connection with the head F. The outer tubing E is provided with one or two joints of perforated piping G which is arranged at the same level as the corresponding perforated pipe section carried b the inner .tubing H.

This inner tubing is packed at a point above the perforated pipe section by means of the pony packer J. This `packer J, as shown in Fig. 2, prevents the upward movement of the fluid between the inner and outer tubin s. The jet K is located directly above the" pony packer J. This packer is described and claimed in a co-'p'ending ap;-

plication heretofore mentioned and is shown in enlarged. section in Fig. 2. In this figure, the jets c are-shown rovided with the spring pressed valve bal s k (in open position).V The inner tubing H projects u wardly through the head cap f to a suitab e separator casingv head lant or the like, as my be necessary accor 1n to the nature of. the well. The pipe f whlch is tapped into the head F communicates with an air compresser or natural gas pressure as circumstances may warrant, and this pressure, as is obvious, flows downwardl between the inner and outer tubings to t e jets for the elevation of the oil.

It is of considerable importance that the various parts -be located in substance as indicated 1n the drawing, and in this connection, particular attention is called to the lpcapion of the packer with relation to the The method of operation consists in placing a vacuum u on the sand through the pipes C and at t e same time injecting the air or gas pressure through pipe f for the operation of the jet and the elevation of the oil. Obviously, all of the benefits of the vacuum system of producing oil are present and, at the same time, the unusual results of the jet system are obtained.

What I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A method or' producing oil consisting in submitting to vacuum portions of oil producing sand within a casing to cause a seepage of the oil, permitting the elevation of the oil within an outer tubing within said casing, and elevating the oil within said tubing through an inner tubing by means of pressure.

2. A method of producing oil consisting in submitting to vacuum portions of oil producing sand within a casing to cause a seepage of the oil, permitting the elevation of the oil within an outer tubing within said casing, and elevating the oil within said tubing through an inner tubing by means o't controlled pressure.

3. A. method of producing oil consisting in submitting to vacuum portions of oil producing sand within a casing to cause a seepage of the oil, permitting the elevation of the oil wit-hin an outer tubing within s aid casing, and elevating the oil -within said tubing through an inner tubing by means of Acontrolled pressure through a series of jets.

4. A method .of producing oil consisting in subjecting oil sands to a vacuum within a casing to cause the seepage of the oil and in elevating said oil through a tubing within said casing by means of pressure free from the influence of the vacuum.

5. An apparatus fory producing oil consisting of an outer casing provided with a head, a plate for said head formed with a central opening, an outer tubing projecting through the opening in said plate, spaced from the casing and extending below the casing, the lower portion of said outer tubing being formed of a series of perforations and the upper por tion of said tubing being connected to a T head, an inner tubing within said outer tubing, a packer between the inner and outer tubing, a jet arranged above the packer, a discharge pipe for the inner tubing, and means for creating a vacuum in the upper portion of the casin 6. A casing formed with a casing head, a discharge pipe for said casing head, a closure for said casing head formed with a central opening, an outer tubing extending through the centrall opening and being provided with a casing head, a connection for said casinglhead, an inner tubing, a packer between the inner tubing and outer tubing, a series of jets communicating between the inner and outer tubings, and the perforated pipe section at the lower extremities of the inner and outer tubings, and means for creating a vacuum in the upper portion of said casing.

7. An apparatus for producing oil consisting of an outer casing provided with a head having a central opening, an outer tubing projecting through the opening in said head,

y spaced from the casing and extending below the casing, the lower portion of said outer tubing being open to permit oil to enter the outer tubing, an inner tubing within said outer tubing and having a discharge pipe at its upper end, a packer between the'inner and outer tubings, a jet arranged above the packer, means for introducing a compres` sion fluid into the upper portion of the outer tubing, and means for creating a vacuum in the upper portion of the casing to cause oil to rise in the space between the casing and outer tubing.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

PAUL ARBON. 

